What Rabbinical College of America is like

What it's like

The Rabbinical College of America is a Chabad-affiliated yeshiva located on an 82-acre campus in Morris Township, New Jersey. Founded in 1956 in Newark, the institution serves as the New Jersey headquarters of the Chabad movement and focuses primarily on training rabbinical students and promoting Jewish religious education. The college maintains multiple programs serving students from college-aged men through adult learners, centered on intensive Jewish study and spiritual development within the Hasidic tradition.

Academic feel

The institution offers a four-year bachelor's degree in religious studies and a master's degree program in religious education. Academic programs include Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim for college-aged men (18–22), an ordination program for advanced rabbinical studies, Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim (a program for Ba'alei Teshuva established in 1973), and Kollel Tiferes Avreichim for married students. The college is licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and accredited by the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools. Hundreds of graduates have obtained rabbinical ordination and serve as rabbis in Chabad communities worldwide.

What you should consider

The college serves distinct student populations: college-aged men in traditional yeshiva study, Ba'alei Teshuva (Jews returning to religious observance) through dedicated programs established since 1973, married students through its Kollel program, and younger students through its summer program for ages 13–14 and the Cheder Lubavitch day school component.

Strengths

• Operates multiple specialized academic tracks including traditional Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim for college-aged men, Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim for Ba'alei Teshuva, and advanced rabbinical ordination programs with supervision from recognized rabbinic authorities.[1]
• Provides rabbinical ordination degrees signed by former Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and Yisroel Meir Lau, indicating recognition at the highest levels of Jewish religious authority.[1]
• Graduates have established themselves as influential rabbis, authors, and community leaders, with notable alumni including Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, Rabbi YY Jacobson, and Dr. Dovid Lazerson (author of Skullcaps n' Switchblades).[1]
• Maintains an 82-acre campus in Morris Township, providing substantial facilities for residential study and community programs since relocating from Newark in 1971.[1]

Traditions

• Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, founded in summer 1973 by Rabbi Avraham Lipskier, was one of the first programs worldwide designed specifically for Ba'alei Teshuva (Jews returning to religious observance).[1]
• The institution operates Yeshiva Summer Program for 13- to 14-year-old boys, combining half-day learning with half-day activities and trips, establishing a pipeline for younger students into yeshiva education.[1]
• The college maintains Kollel Tiferes Avreichim, a program for married students pursuing advanced Jewish study while maintaining family life, reflecting a longstanding commitment to serving multiple life stages.[1]